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The look she gives me says clearly says ‘Help me!’ but there’s nothing I can do while I’m trying to save myself.
“Mom, why are you trying to drive Mia crazy?” Ethan intervenes.
Glenda appears baffled as she forcefully stirs a pot of bisque.
“I’m not trying to drive anyone crazy, Ethan,” she says, looking straight at me. I manage to keep her gaze. “It’s just that this is Mia’s second foray into the family, and this time it’s far more serious since she is expecting your baby.”
“So…?” Ethan raises a hand, prompting her to continue.
She stops stirring the bisque and checks the oven before continuing, “Well, Ethan, somebody has to carry on the family recipes. It’s not like your ex-wife ever cared about them!”
“Is that what this is about, mom?” Ethan asks gently, approaching her.
“I’m sorry if I care about tradition, okay?” Glenda mutters under her breath.
So, all this fuss is because she believes I need to learn the family recipes? She cooked so much food and never bothered to share recipes when I dated Ryan. Was it because she didn’t see a future for us?
When I was with Ryan, I always felt excluded from the family, largely due to Glenda. But now I think it was more because of Ryan and how he treated me and took me for granted.
I’m never telling Glenda this, but Ryan never asking me to marry him was the best thing that ever happened to me.
She’s mid-sentence with Ethan when I step forward and hug Glenda, planting a kiss on her cheek.
A miracle happens because I manage to yank out a smile from her, and that is a personal triumph.
“Alright, alright, don’t get me used to so much sweetness. I’m a diabetic!” she jokes, shooing me away. “If you think I’m driving you crazy, you can take a break for now. There’s always the next family function. Now why don’t you two go straighten out your father’s thoughts? I’m afraid that big screen TV is going to put ideas in his head.”
“Okay, mom,” Ethan kisses her too, and leaves the kitchen with me.
While Glenda cooks dinner like it’s a high-stakes competition, Ethan’s dad, Thomas, watches the giant flat-screen TV in the living room with childlike wonder.
“Mom said you can’t have one of these, dad,” Ethan warns him, his arm around my shoulders.
“Say what?” Thomas turns to us abruptly. “Oh, of course not. She never lets me have nice things!”
“Maybe we can get you one for your birthday, Thomas?” I sit by his side and elbow him playfully.
“I wish! But one of these in our living room would mean my divorce…” he says with a sigh.
“Mom hates TV,” Ethan explains, taking a seat at his other side. “We were able to negotiate a small one in his den, but that’s it.”
“So, you are overcompensating with this gigantic beast?” I tease Ethan, who just leans forward and watches the sports channel along with his dad.
“Of course!” he grins. “Where’s the fun in being rich otherwise?”
Ethan and I both laugh, but Thomas remains captivated by the screen in front of him.
“Want a beer, dad?” Ethan taps his knee and Thomas gives him a thumbs up.
Ethan looks at me, and I ask for a soda. With the agility of an athlete, he’s out of the room in an instant, leaving Thomas and me alone.
I always liked Thomas, but we’ve never had many conversations. Whenever I was around him before, he would always talk about sports, and would attempt to bond with over it, but it always failed miserably.
“I hear you’ve been accompanying the Iron Huskies this season?” There he goes with the sports talk, but this time, I can reply.
“Absolutely!” I slap my thigh in excitement and lean forward. “The Iron Huskies are having an amazing playoff run, aren’t they?”
“Well, for what it’s worth it, I’m putting my money on the Las Vegas Cyclones!” he says with a deadpan expression, getting a laugh out of me with his dry humor.
